Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko drops a massive hint on potential Carlos Sainz and Audi deal

Lewis Hamilton’s early decision to move to Ferrari next season has created a huge disruption in the driver market. With almost 20 Grand Prix on the cards for the ongoing season, the discussions over who will land where in 2025 are flying high. The most affected person involved in this deal is Carlos Sainz.

Despite winning three races and finishing podium in Japan GP Sainz has been replaced by Hamilton in Ferrari. However, it is being reported that Sainz is in talks with his former team Sauber, Audi from 2026, for a potential deal.

Although, there is no official update on their discussions Red Bull’s advisor Dr Helmut Marko has sparked another rumour that Audi will not wait till mid-season to get a final nod from Sainz. According to Marko, Audi needs an answer sooner rather than waiting till August or September.

While speaking to a media house he said, “In my opinion, the fact that the transfer rumour mill is already cooking like this at the beginning of April is due to several factors. If radio paddock is to be trusted, Audi wants a decision from Carlos Sainz very soon.”

“We don’t take part in these games”, says Helmut Marko

It’s worth noting that Carlos Sainz has some great options in front of him. He might get back to Mercedes for a direct swap with Hamilton or choose to stay in Sauber aka Audi to get a fresh experience. However, whether or not he will get a chance in Red Bull is still not clear.

Speaking about it Helmut Marko said, “We do not take part in these games. We won’t hear from Red Bull Racing until the middle of the season about what’s going on in terms of personnel.”

However, Marko acknowledged that the Silverstone-based franchise has a lot of options but he refused to name any. It’s worth noting that almost half of the current F1 pool will be without contract after the end of the ongoing season. This will surely put the driver’s market on fire as some rookies from F2 are also in the fray.